Hoop earring with fastener

ABSTRACT

A hoop earring in accordance with an embodiment of the present application includes a fastener that secures a post of the earring to ensure that the earring is fastened to the user&#39;s ear.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims benefit of and priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/980,015 entitled HOOP EARINGWITH FASTENER filed Oct. 15, 2007, the entire contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a hoop earring that is securelyfastened to a user's ear.

Recently, the popularity of hoop earrings has increased dramatically. Inparticular, hoop earrings of great value that include expensive stonesor other valuable features have become fashionable. The relatively highcost of these pieces makes it imperative that a secure means forfastening them to a user's ear is provided. In addition, any securingmechanism that is used should be aesthetically pleasing as well. Asecuring mechanism that detracts from the appearance of the earringwould be of little value in such a valuable earring.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a hoop earring that issecurely fastened to a user's ear.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hoop earring witha secure fastener that is also aesthetically pleasing.

An earring in accordance with an embodiment of the present applicationincludes a hoop shaped body with an opening formed in a top portionthereof, a post pivotally attached to a first end of the hoop shapedbody adjacent to a first side of the opening and a fastener attached toa second end of the hoop shaped body, opposite the post, and adjacent toa second side of the opening. The post is movable from an open positionto a closed position where the post is inserted into the fastener suchthat the fastener holds the post in the closed position.

An earring in accordance with another embodiment of the presentapplication includes a first hoop element with a post attached to afirst end thereof, a second hoop element with a fastener attached to afirst end thereof, the first hoop element and the second hoop elementpivotally attached to each other such that the first end of the firsthoop element and the first end of the second hoop element are movablerelative to each other. The fastener of the second hoop element isoperable to receive the post of the first hoop element to hold the firstand second hoop elements together in a closed position.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description of the invention which refers tothe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 illustrates a hoop earring in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present application.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of the hoop earring of FIG. 1 in the closedposition.

FIG. 3 illustrates a more detailed view of a fastener of the hoopearring illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a hoop earring in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present application.

FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate additional views of the hoop earring of FIGS.1-3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a hoop earring 10 in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present application. In particular, the earring 10 is substantiallyhoop-shaped with an opening 10 a formed therein to accommodate a user'searlobe. A post 12 is pivotally attached to the earring 10 at one end 10b thereof and pivots between an open position (see FIG. 1) and a closedposition (see FIG. 2) to allow for the user's earlobe to enter theopening 10 a. A fastener 14 is rotatably connected to the earring 10 atan opposite end 10 c, opposing the end 10 b. The post 12 preferablyincludes a threaded portion 12 a on an end closest to the fastener 14.

The fastener 14 includes an opening 14 a, which allows entry of the post12 into the fastener. The opening 14 a preferably includes internalthreads 14 b (see FIG. 3, for example) which cooperate with the threadedend 12 a of the post 12 to secure the post in the fastener. The fastener14 is preferably mounted on a protrusion 10 d that extends from the end10 c of the hoop 10. In a preferred embodiment, the fastener 14 isrotatable about the central axis A (see FIG. 3) of the protrusion 10 d.The fastener 14 also preferably includes a cavity 14 c in which theprotrusion 10 d sits. It is noted that the fastener 14 is preferablysubstantially cylindrical in shape (see FIG. 5A, for example) and isillustrated in cross section in FIGS. 1-3.

In operation, while the post 12 is in the open position, illustrated inFIG. 1, for example, the user inserts the post through a hole in theirear. Thereafter, the post 12 is pivoted into the closed positionillustrated in FIG. 2, for example. The end 12 a of the post 12 isinserted into the fastener 14 and the fastener is preferably rotatedsuch that the threads on the threaded end 12 a of the post 12 engage theinternal threads 14 b of the fastener 14. The fastener 14 is preferablemounted on the protrusion 10 d such that is can move to a small degreeback and forth along the axis A, to aid in inserting the post 12 in thefastener 14. As the fastener 14 rotates in a first direction, thefastener moves toward the post 12 slightly as the threaded end 12 aengages the threads 14 b. In this manner, the earring 10 is securelyfastened to the user's ear. In order to release the earring 10, thefastener 14 is rotated in the opposite direction such that the threads14 b disengage the threaded portion 12 a of the post 12. The fastener 14will move slightly away from the post 12, thus freeing the post to pivotinto the open position again for removal from the user's ear.

FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a hoop earring 100 inaccordance with the present application. In this embodiment, the hoopshape is formed in two hoop halves 101, 102 pivotally connected at thepivot 104. The hoop halves 101, 102 are pivotable relative to each otherto allow opening and closing of the opening 100 a to allow for the post112 to be inserted into a user's ear. In this embodiment, the post 112is fixedly attached to the end 101 a of the hoop half 101 since thepivot occurs at the pivot point 104. The fastener 114 is rotatablyattached to a corresponding end 102 a of the second hoop half 102 in thesame manner as the fastener 14 of FIGS. 1-3 is attached to the end 10 cof the earring 10. In operation, while in the open position, illustratedin FIG. 4, the user inserts the post 112 into their ear. Thereafter, thehoop halves 101, 102 are moved together with the post 112 being insertedinto the fastener 114. The fastener 114 is rotated to secure the post112 therein in the same manner as fastener 14 is rotated as describedabove. Similarly, the fastener 114 is rotated in the opposite directionto release the post 112 so that the hoop halves 101 and 102 are free topivot away from each other to allow the post 112 to be removed from theuser's ear.

FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate some additional views of the hoop earring 10 ofFIGS. 1-3. It is also noted that positioning of the fastener 14, 114 inthe present application not only allows for secure fastening of theearring to the user's ear, but also blends in well with the earring.Thus, users are provided with security without detracting from theaesthetic appeal of the earring.

Although the present invention has been described in relation toparticular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modificationsand other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It ispreferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by thespecific disclosure herein.

1. An earring comprising: a hoop shaped body with an opening formed in atop portion thereof; a post pivotally attached to a first end of thehoop shaped body adjacent to a first side of the opening; and a fastenerattached to a second end of the hoop shaped body, opposite the post, andadjacent to a second side of the opening, wherein the post is movablefrom an open position where the post is separated from the fastener, toa closed position where the post is inserted into the fastener such thatthe fastener holds the post in the closed position.
 2. The earring ofclaim 1, wherein the opening is sized to accommodate an earlobe of auser.
 3. The earring of claim 2, wherein the post further comprisesexternal threads formed on a distal end thereof.
 4. The earring of claim3, wherein the fastener is rotatably mounted on the second end of theearring and includes a post opening at a distal end thereof toaccommodate the distal end of the post.
 5. The earring of claim 4,wherein the post opening includes internal threads formed therein. 6.The earring of claim 5, wherein the fastener is movably mounted on thesecond end of the earring such that when the fastener is rotated in afirst direction, the outer threads of the post interact with the innerthreads of the post opening of the fastener to move the fastener towardthe post to secure the post in the fastener, and when the fastener isrotated in a second direction, opposite the first direction, thefastener moves away from the post.
 7. An earring comprising: a firsthoop element with a post attached to a first end thereof; a second hoopelement with a fastener attached to a first end thereof, the first hoopelement and the second hoop element pivotally attached to each othersuch that the first end of the first hoop element and the first end ofthe second hoop element are movable relative to each other, wherein thefastener of the second hoop element is operable to receive the post ofthe first hoop element to hold the first and second hoop elementstogether in a closed position.
 8. The earring of claim 7, wherein thepost further comprises external threads formed on a distal end thereof.9. The earring of claim 8, wherein the fastener is rotatably mounted onthe second hoop element and includes a post opening at a distal endthereof to accommodate the distal end of the post.
 10. The earring ofclaim 9, wherein the post opening includes internal threads formedtherein.
 11. The earring of claim 10, wherein the fastener is movablymounted on the second hoop element such that when the fastener isrotated in a first direction, the outer threads of the post interactwith the inner threads of the post opening of the fastener to move thefastener toward the post to secure the post in the fastener, and whenthe fastener is rotated in a second direction, opposite the firstdirection, the fastener moves away from the post.